The Maltese Phantom
by BadCatGirl
Summary: Christpher Haunting, despite his unusual name, never gave too much thought about ghosts until he's sent to investigate a family of ghost hunters in the most haunted city in the country, Amity Park.
1. Christopher Haunting

Chapter 1:

My name is Christopher Haunting and I am a detective. I'm not the hardboiled, tough as nails type. I actually wanted to be a dancer, but it never worked out. I just took up the whole detective racket in order to make money while I waited for my real career to start. Three years later and I'm still waiting for real life to begin.

My secretary/assistant/partner, Daisy, was hanging laundry from a line that she had stretched across the office.

"…So I told her that you'd been without a client for a month, and she kinda laughed and said that you'd probably be needing clean socks, so she handed me that line and a bucket. I tell you, she thinks she's all that just because she works in that dingy little store and watches mysteries and soap operas all day…"

I was taken out of my reverie by Daisy's mention of our old classmate. Carol hadn't run in our circles, but she'd always been friendly with us. A little superior, but I didn't blame her. She'd worked in the library and read a lot, something our lower class urban classmates weren't into. Carol had been pulled into the same trap as we had. Plenty of brains, but no money or chance for the things she was really capable of. She did most of the work at the dingy little convenience store she worked at, and filled up the rest of the time reading detective novels, which was why she seemed to get such a big kick out of Daisy and my field of employment.

But the way things had been going lately, Daisy and I might have had to hang up our badges and beg her to put in a word for us with her boss, a nice but unintelligible little Mexican man who'd jumped the fence twenty years back.

I put my feet up on my desk like Carol's Sam Spade and tried to feel the part of a small-time gumshoe. Daisy swatted at my feet, protesting that she had just dusted the desk.

I was putting my feet back on the ground when the phone rang. Daisy and I scrambled for the receiver, and Daisy knocked my chair and I backwards.

"Haunting Detectives Agency!" She answered in her most cheery and blonde voice. She frowned at the answer on the phone and handed it to me.

"He wants you, Chris."

I took the phone from her and poked my tongue out at her.

"Christopher Haunting here."

"Ah, Mr. Haunting, A pleasure to hear from you." The voice was very aristocratic, not the kind of client we usually get.

" I have several associates who have vouched for your capabilities, and I am eager to employ your… unique abilities."

I frowned at this. The few times I've been involved with the upper crust, they've involved dirty sex scandals, not a favorite assignment of mine. But with the rent due and socks hanging across my office, I knew I couldn't afford scruples at the moment.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Sir."

"Dear me, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Vlad Masters." I mouthed the name to Daisy, who gave me a confused look. I rolled my eyes. Naturally Daisy wouldn't know the name of one of the richest men in the country.

"It all started in college after a tragic lab accident…"

Danny Fenton, son of Amity Park's most infamous ghost hunters, banged his head against the lunch table.

"Danny, it's not that big a deal." Sam Manson, the school's Goth tried to comfort her friend and stop him from banging his head against the table again.

Tucker Foley held up his tray to save it from getting knocked off the table.

"Yeah Danny, I mean, it's not like your parents aren't used to you getting F's on your tests."

Danny groaned and slammed his head against the table again.

Sam gave Tucker a venomous look before turning back to her other friend.

"Plus, Mr. Lancer said that you could do some extra credit to pull up your grade."

"You mean like last time with the gorilla? Sam, I don't think I could take another round of late nights fighting ghosts AND wild animals."

"Well, there's no guarantee that there will be a lot of ghost fighting, maybe it will cool of for a while."

"AAAAAAAA! BIG GREEN DOG!" someone yelled.

A red haired little geek ran past their table, waving his arms in the air. A blue wisp of air floated out of Danny's mouth, and right on cue, exactly as predicted, A gigantic glowing green wolf bounded into the cafeteria, sending the students into a panicked uproar, their tray lunches flying into the air.

"No ghosts, huh?" Danny sighed. "Not with our luck."

Danny sank down underneath the table. There was a bright flash as two white bands of light lit up the space, and out through the tabletop flew Danny Phantom, Amity Park's infamous ghostly superhero.

The wolf had cornered Paulina Sanchez, school sweetheart. Her eyes widened from fear to excitement as Danny blasted the wolf away with two glowing balls of ectoplasm.

"Yo Snoopy! Leave the lady alone to finish her lunch!"

The ghost wolf snarled at Danny, green drool dripping from its snout. It howled and leapt at Danny, sending him tumbling backwards through the air.

Danny crashed through one of the school windows, phasing through it just before he hit the plane of glass full on.

The wolf crashed through the window, sending shards of glass at Danny.

He covered his face with his arm, feeling one or two slivers slicing into his skin. The wolf howled once more and flew off into the sky.

"Oh no, you are NOT getting away that easily!" Danny took off after the ghost.

Sam and Tucker ran out to the yard, waving their arms, desperately trying to get the attention of their friend who was quickly shrinking into the distance.

"DANNY! You forgot the Fenton Thermos!"

The plane flight to Amity Park was luxurious. Much more than Daisy and I were used to.

"A private jet!" Daisy cooed, "We really are on our way up, Chris!" She nursed a drink and leaned back in the seat.

"I don't trust Masters though, Daze. I've just got a bad feeling about him."

"I know, but he's offering us four times our usual rate to do this for him. We get the tests; arrange the meeting, hit Wisconsin, and viola, our money problems are over! Plus he'll suggest us to all his rich friends. We'll be able to _send_ our laundry out!"

I looked out the window at the clouds passing us by. When we had settled down into the detective business, I swore to myself that we'd use our abilities and connections to help people out. By all means, Master's problem seemed nice and simple, and his story tragic, but something about him struck me as wrong. Plus, I don't trust anyone with that much money.

"This is your captain, we'll be experiencing a little turbulence."

I looked over at Daisy, who had a blank smile on her face. Since when had anyone been told about turbulence _beforehand_?

My question was answered pretty quickly as two figures flew through the wall of the cabin before us and down the isle, hitting the back wall.

I got up, running to get a better look, Daisy calling after me.

A large, green wolf had pinned a white-haired boy against the back wall. It growled, shoving his snout in his face. The boy yelled out, and reached his hand back as if to hit the wolf. Instinctively I grabbed the wolf around the neck to pull it off of him.

The wolf snarled, turning its head back to bite me. I found myself staring through its open jaws at the boy, whose fist was glowing a radioactive green. The green blasted the wolf and I back through the air. We were careening towards the cabin door, and I braced myself for a bone-shattering impact.

There was a strange feeling in my stomach of lightness and I had a moment to see the shocked face of the captain as the wolf and I flew past him. I watched the plane shrink away as we fell through the air.

I let go of the wolf's neck by accident and gravity caught me. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting the last thing I saw of this world to be the ground coming up to swallow me.

I felt an impact against my chest. For a moment I thought that hitting the ground hadn't been that painful. I opened my eyes to see find myself in the arms of the white haired boy. My head got very light and the last thing I thought before the blackness overtook my mind was that this wasn't a very promising start to our case.

Danny cursed himself under his breath. If he'd had his Fenton thermos, he would have been able to catch the ghost long before anyone would of gotten in danger. Plus the tall black guy was heavy, _REALLY_ heavy. Danny was able to carry his two best friends around while flying, battle meat monsters, phase through walls, punch ghosts into the next county and all, but somehow this guy was really putting a strain on his arms.

Danny gave a sigh of relief when he saw that he'd caught up with the plane. Phasing through the plane's floor he went tangible and set the guy down.

He was thanked with what felt like a frying pan to the back of the head.

Danny whirled around, massaging the bump growing just above the neck.

"Hey! What was that for?" he exclaimed, waving off the petite blonde who was swinging a drink tray back and forth like an overexcited batter.

"You get away from him, weird Goth kid!"

"Hey! I'm not a Goth!" Danny dodged another blow from the tray.

"I just saved his life! Give me a break!"

"You put his life in danger in the first place, idiot!" the blonde swung again, this time losing her grip on the tray, sending it crashing into the far wall.

"I'm sorry! My bad!" Danny went intangible as two glasses also went flying his way.

I awoke to what sounded like the proverbial bull in a china shop. As my vision cleared, I saw the white-haired kid dodging Daisy's arsenal of glasses.

"Daisy! Those aren't ours, and I wouldn't put it past the boss man to take that out of our pay!"

Daisy stopped throwing the glasses long enough for the kid to sink through the plane's floor. This of course gave us time to stare at it dumbfounded.

"Chris, what was that kid?"

I shrugged, grinning, "Who ya gonna call?"

"Oh, shut up."


	2. The Fentons

Chapter 2:

Amity Park was a nice little town. It had all the staples of a small city. The town hall, the local school, and the artery-clogging burger joint were all in place. However, the first thing I noticed about Amity Park was its oddly morbid undertone. While it seemed like a nice, cheery little town, I noticed that the names in it were all connected to something darker. They all seemed to be pulling from horror and ghost stories.

I pointed this out to Daisy, who gave me a blank look.

"Come on Daisy, think! _Casper High_, after Casper the Friendly ghost, Amity Park, after the Amityville Horror, Fenton, which sounds suspiciously like Phantom, heck, the Football team is called the _Ravens_, like that Poe ballad!"

"What's your point?"

I rolled my eyes. Daisy was a sweetheart, but sometimes she could be so _blonde._

"My point is… well it's weird, okay? I'd expect this out of a place like Salem but…"

A girl squealing at a display in a nearby store window, which advertised "DANNY PHANTOM EVERYTHING", diverted my train of thought!

"Never mind?" Daisy asked, smirking at me.

"Maybe not. That's the kid we saw earlier."

I dragged Daisy after me to the window display and the girl who was swooning over a poster with the familiar white-haired boy on it.

"Miss, could you help us out?"

The girl turned to us, glaring a bit. I noticed a bit of a blush about her cheeks, probably embarrassed of having been spotted gushing over the boy, who she had a very obvious crush on.

"Yes?" her annoyed accent was of a definite Spanish origin. She glowered at us both.

"Could you tell us who that white-haired boy is?"

Her eyes lit up suddenly.

"The Ghost boy? He's Danny Phantom! He's a hero! He fights all the ghosts that haunt us. He's saved my life so many times!" Her eyes glazed over as she stared off the side, taking in the image of the poster, which had replaced the boy's legs with a translucent tail.

"So he _is_ a ghost? Not just some kid with ghost-like powers or something?"

She looked at me blankly. "I think so. Can humans have ghost powers?"

I shrugged. "Um, do you know where we could find a Danny Fenton?"

She glowered at me for pulling her away from the display again.

"He and his dorky parents live down the street. You can't miss it." She then pointed to a huge, garish glowing sign proclaiming "FENTONWORKS" and a gigantic arrow that pointed down at the building's door.

"Thanks"

As we walked away, and I'm pretty sure I heard the girl sigh to herself "Paulina Phantom…"

The sign next to the Fenton Family's door stated "Jack and Maddie Fenton, World's leading experts on Ghosts, specters, spirits, phantoms and wraiths! Please bring fudge."

I rang the doorbell, which gave a nice, innocent buzzing sound. I was rather relieved. I was certain that it was going to scream, "Boo," "Beware," or the Ghostbusters theme at us.

A short, red-haired girl of about sixteen opened the door to us. She had a tired, exasperated look about her.

"Yes?" she asked. It sounded more like a groan.

"Yeah, can I talk to a Mr. Jack Fenton?"

"About ghosts!" A huge, wide man in an orange jumpsuit shoved the girl out of the way, leaning into my face.

"Erm… Yeah! About Ghosts!" I forced a smile. "I want to know all about the ghosts in this town!" It seemed like a good way to get into the house.

Jack Fenton grabbed me about the shoulders and pulled me into the house roughly.

"You've come to the right place, my man! The Fentons are the world's-"

"Leading experts on ghosts, spirits, specters, phantoms and wraiths?" I injected.

"Right!"

"Jack, honey, who are you talking to?" A woman in a blue jumpsuit walked in, carrying a bizarre little contraption with a dish and a bunch of buttons on it. I recognized her instantly as Maddie Fenton from the photo the client had emailed us on the way.

"This is… umm" Jack Fenton looked me up and down, trying to think of the name I hadn't had time to give him.

"I'm Chris Hau-" I paused, not wanting to give my actual name, especially in this group of obsessed ghost hunters. "I'm Chris Hartman. My colleague, Daisy," I pulled Daisy over to my side, "and I are here in town on business. We were attacked by a couple of ghosts while flying over the city and decided to find out more."

"You saw a ghost!" Jack Fenton shoved his face in mine again. He'd been eating ham. The ham had been a little overdue for a trip to the dumpster."

"Two, actually. A white-haired kid and a glowing green wolf."

"That Phantom kid again!" Fenton pumped his fist in the air. Don't worry, I, JACK FENTON, will catch that ghost!"

I looked over at Daisy. What exactly had I gotten us into now?

I was slightly taken aback by the Fenton's lab. It was filled to the brim with odd contraptions, beakers of glowing slime, and on the back wall was a huge octagon shaped door, which Jack Fenton called the Fenton portal. He pulled out contraption after contraption; giving me it's name and explaining what it did. Everything from the Ghost Gabber to the BOO-merang had a crazy name and an even wackier use. As he went on, I couldn't help but get swept up in his enthusiasm.

"Dad?" a slight, black-haired boy stuck his head down the stairs, "What's going on?"

"DANNY! Come on down! I'm showing Mr…."

"Hartman"

"… Mr. Hartman the lab!"

Danny's eyes widened as he looked at me. Like he recognized me. Of course, there was no way he could, since I'd never seen him before… except for Master's emailed photo again. I felt a twinge of guilt. Despite his blustering, bravado, and the numbness I was getting in my shoulder from him clapping it and pulling me this way and that, I kind of liked the man. He had a very enthusiastic, warm personality. It pained me to think that I could have a hand in causing this man pain.

Danny couldn't believe it. The black guy from the plane was now in his house? Maybe it wasn't the same guy.

"Hey Jack, Daisy and I are going to be in town for a while, do you have any suggestions to keep the ghosts off our back? We have business and don't have time to get chased by ghosts."

Nope, it was the same guy. Danny looked around for the dangerous blonde who'd been hurling drinking glasses at his head only a few hours earlier. She wasn't in the lab. Maybe she hadn't come to Fentonworks too?

Jack Fenton pulled out a gigantic round gun. "It's brand new! It shoots out ectoplasmic rays that are guaranteed to knock ghosts straight into the next county!"

He plopped the ray gun into my hands. In retrospect, I probably should have told him straight out that I wasn't very good with guns.

The Fenton ray shot off, blasting a hole in the ceiling. I was knocked to the floor by the kick, and the gun went off again, this time at Danny's head, which he fortunately ducked just in time, and the ray blasted a hole in the door behind him. The gun was firing randomly now, the kicks dragging me across the floor. Jack grabbed onto my legs, but that only managed to get us both knocked down by the blasts. One hit above the Ghost portal's control panel, knocking a beaker of glowing ectoplasm onto a button. A warning light started flashing, and the yellow and black striped doors opened, revealing a swirling green mist.

In the depths of the mist we could see forming what looked like a huge dust cloud bearing in on us. The ghostly moan coming from the cloud turned into a moo as we realized that a hundred head of spectral bison were headed high speed straight towards the portal.

"STAMPEDE!" Jack and I yelled. I aimed the still misfiring Fenton Ray through the portal. The blast launched whole line of red-eyed bulls backwards into the air. With a cry of triumph, Jack let go of me as I struggled to keep the Fenton Ray steady, firing into the ghost zone. Jack grabbed up another gun from a rack on the wall and started firing from behind me. Though his gun didn't have as much firepower, his aim was definitely better than my sporadic blasts. Wave after wave of spectral buffalo were blasted back into the depths of the ghost zone. Finally Maddie Fenton ran down and slammed her fist against the control panel of the Portal, and the doors closed.

I sat on the ground, the Fenton Ray smoking green from the muzzle.

"Hair trigger… right. I need to make a note of that." I said as I handed Mrs. Fenton the gun.

At least the fight was over. Danny had been afraid of having to enter the fray as Danny Phantom. He didn't want the mysterious guy from the plane making any more connections than he must of already had. How had he traced him back the Fentonworks?

Danny sat down at the kitchen table, mulling over this and his math homework. He was sure Hartman had reacted to his face, but how could he? He'd only seen him as Danny Phantom for a moment. Was it the Guys in White again? Danny had been sure he'd taken care of them during the whole Reality Gauntlet fiasco. Hartman didn't look like one of the guys in white. For one thing, he wasn't wearing white, and he wasn't nearly as bulky on top. Nor could he handle that big gun like a government agent should be able to.

"Oh Jack, you're bleeding!" He heard his mother exclaim as the voices rose up from the stairs.

"It's nothing, Maddie, just a nick." His dad assured her.

"He probably got it while we were struggling with the Fenton Ray. That thing has got a really strong kick!" Hartman's voice sounded excited and exhausted.

Danny sank his head down lower, trying to avoid eye contact with Hartman.

"I'll get something for it." Daisy's voice came from behind Danny, making him jump a little.

"It's in the upstairs bathroom cabinet, dear." His mom told her.

Danny sank his face in his hands. He wished he could go invisible, but couldn't in the suddenly crowded kitchen. He felt like space was pressing in on him. He needed to call Tucker and Sam. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe Hartman and his friend showing up here was only a coincidence. Maybe Hartman just knew someone who looked like Danny from his past.

Someone like Danny Phantom? Sometimes even Danny wondered how people didn't know it was just him; with a slight change of hair and eye color of course.

Daisy came back down with the med kit. She wiped Danny's father's brow with a swab, then went about putting a small bandage on it.

"Good as new. I'm sorry about your husband, Mrs. Fenton, but Chris has always been pretty rough on his toys."

Maddie and Daisy laughed over this as Jack and Chris compared battle notes.

Danny groaned and rushed upstairs.

"Did you get it?" I asked Daisy.

"Yeah, it wasn't much of a problem. It was kinda lucky you guys got into that fight. I didn't really like combing through their stuff and trying to figure out what belonged to who."

"I know. They're nice people. Overzealous, but nice." I laughed. "I wonder what it was like for those kids to grow up with parents like that."

"Eventful?"

We both laughed at this on the way to our motel rooms. But the jest was hollow, like the victory. I went from almost hoping that our client was wrong to praying for him to be wrong.


	3. The Nurses

Chapter 3:

"PHYSICALS!" Tucker gasped, reading a bulletin.

"Yeah, it says everyone has to have a checkup at the nurse's office today." Sam read the bulletin.

"But... I can't… YOU CAN"T MAKE ME!" Sam and Danny grabbed onto Tucker's arms as he tried to escape out the door.

"It'll be okay, Tuck." Danny assured him. "They'll just check your heart, blood pressure, height and weight, and you're out."

"But WHY?" Tucker cried, slumping down to the floor.

"Because it's required. Don't be such a baby. Just pretend it's a modeling agency like you always do." Sam told him, rolling her eyes.

"We might as well go now," Danny suggested. Tucker glared at him. "And get it over with. Don't worry Tuck, I heard them saying that the nurses they brought in are really hot."

"You look really hot in that outfit," Daisy giggled.

"I didn't make Miss Mr. 2002 for no reason," I laughed. "When it comes to Drag, I am the Queen."

We'd ushered out a couple more students and the nurse's outfits were a rousing success. I'd even gotten a couple of invitations to the senior prom. Being that it was from a couple of freshmen, I had to turn them down.

"When is that Fenton kid going to get here, though? If I have to clean up one more prepubescent kid's drool, I'm gonna…"

"Daze, they're high school kids. They've hit puberty."

The door opened, and Danny Fenton and his two friends entered. The kid with glasses was being lead in by his friends, his eyes covered and muttering to himself. "It's a modeling agency, it's a modeling agency, a modeling agency."

He opened his eyes and stared at me.

"HELLOOOO MODELS!"

He leapt away from his friends and into my arms.

"Well you're eager!" I gasped, putting him down on the table.

"Okay, if you kids will wait outside, _Christine _and I will just give your friend a look-see." Daisy said in her most sugary flight hostess voice.

"This is going to be a _complete_ physical, am I right?" Tucker asked, giving me what I was sure was his patented ladies smile."

"And that's our cue to give you guys some room!" Sam Manson shoved Danny out the door, and they slammed it behind them.

A few minutes later we were begging Mr. Hormones to get out.

"Are you sure you've checked _everything?_"

This kid was turning every sentence into a line. I'm the one who was in drag and _I_ was getting weirded out.

"I suppose we could always give you a blood test." I pulled out a long needle. "A long, _painful_, blood test."

A look of horror swept over the kid's face. He practically flew out the door.

Daisy and I gave a sigh of relief. He stuck his head back in.

"Call me?"

"ERRRG!" I growled at him, and he slammed the door again.

I opened up the door and peeked out to see Foley high tailing it down the hall.

"Danny Fenton? You're next."

Fenton and Manson quit giggling long enough for him to get up.

"We'll get to you next, Ms. Manson." Daisy assured her sweetly. Manson glared.

"Well Danny, If you'll take off your shirt, we'll check you're heart." I told him. He was cooperative, which was a relief after Foley.

"Is you're friend always so excited about health?" I asked him.

"Naw, Tucker hates hospitals and nurses… usually."

"Well, don't worry about that, we've been getting that sort of thing all day." I reassured him, going through the paces of checking him with the stethoscope, checking blood pressure, feeling his ribs as he breathed.

"You're pretty bruised up, kid. Do you take sports?"

"Um no, I'm just kind of clumsy." He said, but somehow the way he looked to the side made me think there was something else going on. Perhaps Masters had been right about the occupational hazard of living with Jack Fenton. Danny Fenton was kind of small, and from our surveillance throughout the past week, I could tell he was a school underdog. He probably got beat up a lot. (Of course, throughout our surveillance, we noticed a lot of ghost attacks. Practically every day there were attacks, in fact. It was a wonder more of the kids we'd seen that day weren't more banged up.

"Hop up on the scale," I told him, making note of his height and weight. He was a little short for his age, and on the slight side. It looked like he got his share of exercise. I made note of all of this. The only reason Daisy and I were able to pull off this nurse scam was because we'd actually had a little training, mainly first aid, plus having the exact same physical throughout our own high school years.

"Okay, one last thing," I pulled out the needle I'd threatened Foley with. "A small blood test."

"A blood test? You don't want me to pee in a cup or something?" He asked, looking a little scared. "Don't worry," I told him in my most gentle voice, "It's just a little blood."

He gave me a suspicious look. I gave him another reassuring smile, tied off his arm, and inserted the needle. He gave a little grimace, but otherwise was quiet.

"Well that's it, Mr. Fenton, you have a nice day." Daisy gave him a small bandage and ushered him out. I packed the blood into a small tube, labeled it, and put it away into a cooler. That was done. Too bad we had to put up with the rest of the school body before we could ditch our disguises safely.

"Alright Ms. Manson, you're turn." Daisy let in the sour-faced Goth girl.

It was going to be a long day.

"See, Tucker, that wasn't so bad." Sam said at lunch. "Those nurses were very gentle."

"Oh yeah, the tall one totally threatened me with a needle!"

"You did come on pretty strong." Sam grinned.

"I was kind of surprised that they asked for a blood test."

Sam and Tucker stared at Danny for a moment.

"Dude, they didn't ask for a blood test, they _threatened_ me with a blood test!" Tucker corrected him.

"No, I mean they asked me for a blood test. They don't usually do that for school checkups."

"Danny, no one was asked for a blood test." Sam told him.

"Yes they did! They took some blood from me." Danny showed them the bandage on his arm, where the nurse had taken blood.

"Okay, that's weird. Do you think they were up to something?" Sam said.

"I do now, and I'm going to find out what." Danny got up, preparing to find a place to go ghost. The bell rang, shrill and authoritative.

"Maybe after class, dude." Tucker suggested.

Try as Danny may, he couldn't get away from his classes to investigate the strange nurses. He kept passing the nurse's office, trying to peek in to see what they were doing, but all he could see was them checking student after student. Nothing suspicious.

Once school was done, he snuck, invisible and intangible, into the nurse's office. He'd missed them leave because of another ghostly animal attack. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary in the office. No hint of ghostly or illegal activity.

Danny reached through the cabinet, pulling out the files. He finally found his own. The handwriting was clean and patient. _That_ was suspicious. He looked over the notes. Height, age, weight, blood pressure, a few notes about strange bruises, but again, nothing out of the ordinary. There was no mention of them taking his blood. Danny was sure that those weren't ordinary nurses. He'd catch them again though, the checkups were being held all week.

But the very next day when he peeked into the nurse's office, they weren't there. There were two nurses and a student being checked over, but the tall black lady and the petite sweet-voiced one with red hair were nowhere in sight.

"Mr. Fenton, may I help you?" Danny's neck hairs stood on end as Mr. Lancer's voice loomed from behind him.

"Um… Hi! Mr. Lancer…." Danny tried desperately to think of something. "I, uh, just noticed that the nurses from yesterday aren't here."

"Yes, I noticed that too. The ones in there today were held up yesterday, and the others were filling in. Now, since they gave you a clean bill of health, I expect you should be able to get through my class today… _CONCIOUS_."

Mr. Lancer turned and stalked down the hallway, pausing for a moment to yell at a Dash and Kwan who were shooting spitballs at Mikey.

Danny thought for a moment. That sort of explained the change in nurses, but not the mysterious blood test. It was a convenient excuse. Again, he wondered about the Guys in White. But this was too subtle for them, and as far as he knew, they didn't know his secret. Danny turned and headed for his locker. He'd have to ask Jazz and Sam. Maybe they'd have an idea of what to make of it.


	4. Doubt and Guilt

Chapter 4:

"Well, Daze, is the mail in yet?"

"No, it's still not in, just like five minutes ago, when you asked me last."

I plopped back on the motel bed.

"I just want to find out what they found. I want this to be over with."

"You think Masters is right about the Fenton kid?"

"No, Daze, I don't. We've been watching the Fenton family for two weeks now, and I'm sure he's completely off base. Maybe…

Daisy lay down beside me, propping her chin up on her palms. "What's wrong?"

"I don't like Masters. I've never even met the man so I can't really get a fix on him like I usually can when I meet someone."

"You mean that vibe you're always able to get from people?"

"Yeah. You know, I can tell right off the bat if someone is okay or not the minute I meet them… but this Vlad Masters guy, we've only spoken on the phone, over the internet, always from thousands of miles away. And I just don't trust people who are that stinking rich."

"He's paying well." Daisy reminded me again.

"I know, maybe too well."

"Maybe not. He lives alone, no family, no girlfriend, not even a cat. Maybe he's just looking for love."

"And paying out the nose for the slightest chance at another man's wife?"

"Well, it kinda makes sense."

"In a twisted way, like mail-order brides."

"Huh?"

"Never mind, Daze." I sighed, staring at the ceiling.

"This kid, he's got a nice family. A little eccentric, but nice. I like his father. Big, overbearing, and very loud, but the guy obviously means well."

"Despite the explosions?"

"Despite the explosions." I grinned. I still had bruises from the last time we'd visited the Fentons, just a couple of days ago to pick up the ghost weapons we'd ordered from them. We'd been attacked by several more ghosts in the past couple of weeks, the first couple of times Amity Park's resident celebrity ghost hero, Danny Phantom, had beaten the ghosts off, but the last time Daisy had managed to hit the self-proclaimed Box Ghost with the Fenton utility weapon Maddie Fenton had given her… which was disguised as a tube of lipstick. I had suggested to Maddie that she market the things to urban women as a self-defense product.

"His dad is an okay guy. He shares his interests with his kids, includes them, and shows interest in how they're doing… whether they want him to or not." We both got a chuckle out of that.

"My old man never did anything like that for me. I don't even know what it's like to even have a father. Daisy, I know that Masters may be right, but is it worth it to drag the kid away from the life he's known, from the family that loves him? Is it my right to take that away from someone who has all that?"

She looked at me for a moment, and I couldn't read her expression. Did she understand where I was coming from? Was she considering the question? Completely blanking out on me like she was prone to do?

I got up and checked the cooler where I'd put the extra samples of Jack and Danny Fenton's blood.

"I'm going to send these out to another lab."

"But Chris, the results will be in today, just be patient."

"I'm going to send them to a second lab. You know, just in case something happened to the first samples."

"But you don't have the…"

"These two will tell us enough."

Daisy sat silently on my bed as I headed out to the Amity Park post office. I arranged for the samples to be sent first class, cooler, biohazard, fragile warning and all to a lab I knew back home.

I paused for a moment. The woman at the desk looked at me questioningly.

"And tell them to send the results here," I wrote down Carol's address back home. The woman nodded, adding a note to the package.

I paid the postage and watched them carry it off. That done, I headed back to the motel in time to see the mail truck drive off.

I met Daisy at the front desk and we rushed it back to my room.

I locked the door and closed the blinds.

"Well, open it!" Daisy prodded me, as expectant and nervous as I was.

I opened the manila folder carefully and read the lab results.

I read them again. Then a third time, my stomach twisted up in a horrible knot.

"What does it say?" Daisy asked, practically jumping up and down on the floor.

"It says… Well, he was right. Vlad Masters _is_ Danny Fenton's real father."


	5. The Confrontation

Chapter 5:

"Dear Mr. Daniel Fenton," Sam Manson read from the note they'd founding Danny's locker, "Our Client has requested that you meet with us tonight regarding a matter of great personal importance."

"What does that mean?" asked Tucker.

"I don't know." Danny scratched the side of his face. "What does the rest say?"

"Meet us between the box store and the sporting goods store at nine, so that we may discuss the matter privately." Sam continued.

"That's a dead alley, Danny," Tucker showed him the map he'd pulled up on his P.D.A.

"It's probably a trap then," Danny said, staring at the P.D.A.

"That's a given." Sam said. "It says that if you don't show up, they'll be forced to reveal their findings to your parents."

Danny felt a surge of horror. "Do you think they're talking about-?"

"…Danny Phantom? It seems like it." Sam's face was stony. "Danny, don't go, if it _is_ about you're secret, then you already know that your parents will understand. Don't risk your life over this."

"I'm not going to risk my life, but a lot of suspicious stuff has been going on, and this may give me the answers."

"You mean the nurses? Dude, get over it." Tucker argued. "It was weird, but it was probably nothing."

"It isn't Tucker. There is something going on here, and I want to know what!"

Sam and Tucker shared a look.

"What exactly do you think is going on?" Sam asked.

"I think someone has been spying on me. Every time I start to get close to finding out who it is, another ghost attacks! And now there's this note!"

"Okay, man. We'll go with you." Tucker reassured him.

"We can't," Sam interrupted, "it says you're supposed to come alone."

"Maybe if you hid in one of the stores nearby, I could call you if I needed help." Danny suggested.

They all nodded in agreement, and the conversation was finished with the ringing of the class bell.

Danny arrived at the alley on the dot of nine. An early fall breeze nipped about his cheeks. Danny pulled his jacket closer. In the shadows of the alley he could see the outlines of two figures in long coats.

One of the figures approached out of the shadows and lifted up a dark fedora.

"Mr. Hartman?" Danny gasped, recognizing the mysterious man who'd visited his parents. "I knew you had something to do with this!" Danny backed up, lowering his body and lifting his arms into a fighting position.

"Daniel," Hartman started.

"Don't call me that!" Danny yelled, memories of his twisted arch foe rising unbidden in the back of his mind.

"Danny then. I apologize for the mystery. My name is Christopher Haunting. I'm a private detective. Please, I don't mean to cause you any harm, but I have some information that is very important to you."

Christopher Haunting held out a manila folder, offering it to Danny.

Danny approached carefully, glancing to the box store window, where he could just barely see two heads peeking out at them. Sam and Tucker, just where they'd promised to be. Secretly, Danny felt a bit of weight lift off his chest. He knew that as long as his friends were there, he could handle anything. Tried and proven.

Danny took the folder from Haunting and tried to read the scientific data and charts it provided. He tried to make sense of it, but any meaning it had evaded him. Haunting apparently saw his confusion, because he approached Danny. Danny at first shook him off, then let Haunting lean over his shoulder and explain.

"It's a DNA test."

"You got my DNA?" Danny asked, the implications dawning over him. "So _you_ hired those nurses who took my blood!"

The other figure giggled, and Danny realized it must have been the blonde, Daisy.

"We _were_ the nurses." She told him, giggling again.

Danny gave Haunting an incredulous look. He then saw the resemblance.

"You were…?"

"Miss Mr. 2002." Haunting gave a little bow and a comforting smile. "One of my many talents. Your father's blood was easier. We lucked into it when we visited your house the first time."

Danny remembered Daisy wiping blood from Jack's brow.

"Why? What does this all mean?" Danny waved the charts.

Chris sighed, looking sad.

"I'm sorry, Danny."

"What!" Anger rose in Danny's voice.

"These charts," Chris pointed to the jagged lines across one of the papers, "Represent the pattern of acids that make up your DNA. Every person, except maybe identical twins, has a completely unique pattern."

Danny nodded, just barely understanding the explanation, but not where the detective was going with this.

"However, family members will have similar patterns, markers in common. If there are seven or more in common, it shows direct relation. A parent or sibling."

"So?"

"The test shows that Jack Fenton is not your father." Chris pointed at the charts.

Danny threw the papers to the ground.

"That's not true! It's a trick!" Danny yelled. He gave a shiver, his breath flowing out, like the smoke of a baby dragon.

"Danny, I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to tell you this, but it's your right to know." Chris held out his arms in apology.

"Who sent you? Who is my father then?" Danny shook off he tears forming in his eyes.

"Our client, your real father, is-"

"Me."

Danny turned on his heel, whirling about to face the all too familiar voice.

"Plasmius! I should of known you'd be behind this!" Danny yelled at his arch foe, his hands curled into fists.

"Plasmi-who?" Chris and Daisy echoed behind him.

Danny ignored them, wincing at dropping his secrecy.

"Ah, Daniel. Ever since I saw you I knew." Vlad started, a wicked little smile forming about the corners of his lips. "It was about fourteen years ago with Maddie… well, sometimes little things happen."

Danny snarled at Masters.

"That's a lie! Mom wouldn't touch you with a twelve-foot pole!"

"Are you so sure? Haunting, you have told him about the tests, haven't you?"

Danny turned his head slightly to look at the private eye. A sad look covered the man's face. Danny felt a little of his anger at the detective melt away.

"The tests don't lie, Danny." The detective answered in a hollow voice.

"Now, Daniel, shall we go home?"

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Danny glanced to the window, looking for Sam and Tucker to back him up like they'd promised. But no faces peered back at him.

"I am your father, Daniel!" Masters started to grow angry, "You must obey!"

"I don't care what the tests may say, or what you claim about my mother, my dad is Jack Fenton, and you can't change that!"

"If that's how you feel," Masters took a step back, "Then I guess I'll have to change your mind by force!" Two glowing black bands appeared around Vlad Master's waist, separating, erasing Master's form and replacing it with the ghoulish form of Vlad Plasmius.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It had to be a dream. Right before my eyes my aristocratic white-haired client was replaced with a caped, black-haired floating demon with pointed ears and teeth.

Daisy screamed in surprise, and Plasmius, as Danny had called him, grinned. He rose into the air above us, red energy glowing from his fists.

"Now, if you'll leave me with my son," Plasmius addressed me, his voice had a haunted echoing quality to it now, "I'll wire you the rest of your fee."

"Now wait a minute!" I yelled.

A red blast shot from his hand, hitting the brick wall behind us, blasting a hole in it.

I shielded my face from the chunks of brick that rained down on us. I turned to face Plasmius again.

"Do you really wish to fight me?" He grinned.

"Yeah, I think I really do! You're not putting a hand on this kid!" I pushed Danny behind me. "I don't know what you are, Masters, but I'm not afraid of you!"

"Then you're a bigger fool than I was told."

That statement burned, but not as much as the red ectoblast that hit me in the stomach, rocketing me backwards into the wall.

"Chris!" Daisy ran to my side, holding my head. "Are you all right?"

I opened an eye and glared at her.

"Sorry, standard question."

Danny was standing between Plasmius and us. He looked back at us for a moment, and I could see the indecision in his eyes. Daisy was holding me and crying.

"Daze, get out of here," I told her hoarsely. She shook her head violently, holding me closer. If it was to be our last moments, I figured at least I'd picked one doozey of a best friend and partner.

"Daniel…" Plasmius hissed. "Come along or I'll be forced to use greater measures." His fists glowed red again and he aimed at Daisy and I.

"Then I guess I'm Goin' Ghost!" The kid yelled.

Daisy and I stared awestruck as the scared kid we'd been observing the past few weeks repeated Plasmius' trick as two white bands formed around his waist, wiping away Danny Fenton and filling in with the Ghost Kid who'd saved my butt on the plane.

"Danny _Phantom?"_ Daisy and I gasped.

Plasmius launched another blast at Daisy and me. This time however, Danny flew up in front of us, blocking it with a glowing green shield. I struggled up to my feet, and grabbed the Fenton Ray which I'd hidden behind the dumpster.

"Oh, one of Jack's little toys… I'm so frightened." Plasmius sneered.

"You should be!" I angled the Fenton Ray at his head. The Ray went off, letting loose a blast and knocking me off my feet. "It has the word Fenton on it, and that means quality… well actually it means explosions forthcoming, but that works too."

Danny grinned and attacked Plasmius with a barrage of ectoblasts. Plasmius blocked the blasts with the red ectoplasmic shield.

Plasmius then split himself into four separate forms, surrounding us. Daisy gasped, and I couldn't help but do the same. I turned my body, letting the Fenton Ray fire wildly. One of the Plasmiuses was hit, and it evaporated into nothing. Danny squared off with another of them as Daisy dodged a second. The third grabbed me from behind and wrestled with me for control of the Ray.

"Now really, Daniel, is this the way to treat your father?"

"You're not my father!" Danny shot another blast at Vlad, who dodged it easily. Danny was getting worried, Sam and Tucker should of come out of hiding, various weapons blazing, and to back him up the moment Vlad arrived.

Vlad grabbed him by the shoulder and banged him up against the wall of the sporting goods store.

"You can't beat me, Daniel, and you can't keep denying that you are just like me." That same sadistic, self-indulgent grin Danny had come to associate with his every meeting with Vlad crept across his enemy's face.

"Indefensible proof in front of your face, and you still refuse to accept that you were meant to be under my tutelage, to follow in my footsteps." Danny looked away from Vlad's red eyes, fighting back the creeping, nagging fear that had been lurking in the back of his mind. He WAS different from Vlad. They may have similar powers, but he used his to help others…

And himself. The guilty memories of using his powers to play pranks on his rivals, to spy on Sam… every time Vlad had seen these things he'd pointed them out. But that was Vlad's sick dream…

Vlad grinned, seeing Danny's resolve weaken.

A green blast shook the wall he'd pinned Danny against.

Vlad turned around to look and Danny phased through the wall beneath his hands. Vlad cursed, seeing that haunting had thrown off the duplicate and fired just when Vlad had Danny within his grasp.

Vlad growled at the detective he'd hired, who was looking far too pleased with himself for helping Danny.

"You'll pay for that."

Danny flew up from the ground, regrouping with Haunting. The two took a fighting stance back to back, facing Vlad and the remaining duplicate.

"You still with me, kid?" Chris asked Danny.

"Yeah, but Sam and Tucker should have been here by now." Danny worried.

Vlad laughed, overhearing his young rival. "I foresaw you preparing a cavalry, so I had a few ghosts in my employ _take care_ of them.

Daisy backed up, joining Danny and Chris.

"Masters, if you hurt them, I swear…" Chris growled.

"Amusing as this is, we have a flight to catch." Plasmius grinned, then shot at Danny, who went intangible quick enough to avoid getting hit, but the duplicate took this chance to shoot the Fenton Ray out of Haunting's hands.

Plasmius then lifted a small control from a pocket in his cape and pressed a single button. The dirt beneath them shook, and a metal plate revealed itself. A bolt of green electricity arced from the metal plate into the air, hitting the three.

Danny hit the ground, the two white bands returned about his waist, replacing his ghost form with his ordinary clothes and coloring. Plasmius hit another button, and a green shield sprouted from the edges of the metal plate, which was now floating a foot above the ground. Haunting pushed himself up off his knees and punched the green shield. It knocked him backwards, his fist giving off a bit of green smoke.

"Masters! Let us out of here!" Haunting demanded.

Plasmius laughed. "You're hardly in the position to demand anything. But we'll discuss your release once we're all back in my castle." Plasmius looked over at Danny, who was being helped into a sitting position by Daisy. "And we'll discuss how sons are supposed to behave towards their fathers."

Danny gave him a defiant look, but was unable to muster the strength to snap a comeback at him.

The plate rose higher, Plasmius flying up above it, guiding it to a plane that had been floating several hundred feet above them.

Danny looked down at the earth, and saw Sam and Tucker running out, far too late to do anything but watch helplessly as their friend was taken away. He gave a small sigh; relieved that at least they were unharmed.

The plate clacked into place in the underbelly of plane, and the roar of the engines told him that they were on their way.

To where, he already knew, but to what? And with two strangers looking on in quiet embarrassment, he started to cry.


	6. Kidnapped

Ch 6:

They'd been sitting in the belly of the plane for over a good hour before anyone spoke.

"Are we there yet?"

Danny and Chris both glared at Daisy.

"What?"

"Daze, do you think for a minute that you could NOT be such a blonde?" Chris rolled his eyes. "Arriving in Wisconsin is not something we should be looking forward to."

"Well I'm bored."

Chris groaned, resting his face in his hands.

Daisy turned to Danny. "You'd think for a multi-billionaire, he'd be able to afford to pass us a couple of magazines for the flight."

Danny gave her a cold look, then got up, moving to the far side of the shield. He was angry and embarrassed. He hadn't meant to cry in front of them.

"You could be a little more sensitive, Daisy." Chris chastised his partner in a whisper. "The kid's gone through a lot, he doesn't need hearing you complain about dumb stuff."

Danny didn't waste any breath telling them that he could hear them both. It was like an extra twist of the knife that they should pretend to give the slightest damn about him. He was just a paycheck to them. Even if Haunting had thrown away the rest of his pay and possibly his career and life to try to stop Plasmius…

It was less confusing if he could be angry with them and pretend that they had set the whole thing up. When they had figured the alleyway meeting was a trap, he certainly hadn't expected anything like this.

Vlad was his father? That didn't make any sense. Vlad _wanted_ to be his father, he knew that already. But that was mainly because Vlad wanted to date his mom and was interested in the fact that they were both half-ghosts… Of course in a way, it sort of seemed right that the only two half-ghosts in the world should be father and son…

Danny shook that thought out of his head. He was no psychology major like Jazz (was Jazz even his sister instead of half-sister?), but Vlad's actions before this, trying to clone him, trying to get him to renounce Jack as his father, throwing him to the ghost hunters in order to make his dad look bad to him… it hurt his head to try to figure out Vlad's reasoning behind I all. He wished Sam or Jazz was there to figure it out.

Vlad was his father? His archenemy had turned out to be his father? He fought the thoughts back. It had to be a trick. The detectives must have faked the tests somehow. He slightly remembered catching a crime show that talked about DNA testing... or maybe it was one of the boring biology lectures by Lancer that Danny had actually paid a bit of attention to, but he somehow remembered someone explaining the tests like Haunting had.

"The tests don't lie," Haunting's words played over and over again in his head.

His mother never touched Vlad, and never would. It was the only thought that kept him from completely letting himself believe it.

Plus he hated Vlad.

Danny lay down on his side and tried to sleep, but it refused to come and relieve his tired mind.

Danny had been quiet for a while. I figured he'd gone to sleep. It was probably for the best. I couldn't figure out what was going on in the kid's head. He was angry, he was scared, and he was completely in denial.

Daisy was fast asleep. I rolled her head gently off my lap and massaged my legs. I got up as silently as possible so not to disturb either of them. The pins and needles had just nearly faded from my legs when the door to the plane's underbelly opened and Vlad Masters, having returned to his human form, strode in.

"What do you want now, Masters?" I asked him in a low voice.

"I just wanted to check in on the lil Badger."

"What badger?" I panicked a little. I've always hated badgers.

"That's just a nickname I have for young Daniel." He growled.

"Oh… that's kinda creepy, you know that, right?"

Masters didn't dignify that with a response. He just walked over to the side of the shield where Danny had curled up on the floor.

"Mr. Haunting, have you ever wanted something that everyone told you that you couldn't have?"

"What are you getting at?"

Masters stared at Danny for a moment, and I saw a flash of something softer in his eyes.

"Maddie, Daniel, the Packers… no one would let me have them." Masters curled his hands into fists. "They should all have been mine, if not for that idiot, Jack Fenton…"

"Wait, Fenton wouldn't let you have the Packers?"

"Well, actually that last one was the city of Green Bay, but Jack has taken everything else from me."

I just stood there listening to him, here was someone who had all the money he could ever want, someone who obviously had all the brains, wits, and talent he could ever need, and yet he was driving after a woman and her son… and a football team.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because, my boy, you actually managed to impress me. I was watching you the whole time. The slight of hand your assistant made to collect Jack's blood, your... disguises when you collected Daniel's, even when you fought me tonight, all were well beyond my expectations. I'm giving you a second chance. I could use someone like you on my payroll."

He was a smooth one. Flattery, a sob story, and the subtle bribe all almost had me going, but I still couldn't shake off the chill he gave me when he spoke. He was just plain creepy.

"Thanks, but you still kidnapped all of us."

"I wouldn't have had to take such extreme measures if you'd done as I told you," he smirked.

"There is something so incredibly wrong with you if you think that gives you justification."

"I always said he was a crazed up fruit loop, but no one ever listens to the kid." I was surprised to see Danny sitting up, fully awake.

"Ah yes, the famous teenage wit," Masters smirked, "Just how many times are you going to use that line?"

"It works for you." Danny retorted. I have to admit, it was a weak comeback.

"I'm sure in time you'll reevaluate your estimation of me, Son."

Danny fumed at Masters, still refusing to accept that title coming from Masters' mouth.

"Re-e-whatsie?" Daisy sat up, looking at Masters in confusion. "Chris, what did he say?"

"He said that the kid would change his mind in time."

"Oh." She looked at Masters, rubbing a little sleep out of her eyes, "Why can't you just use plain English, man?"

"My dear, how exactly did someone of your brainpower get into the private detective business in the first place?" Masters groaned.

"Good looks and charm now go away, I need my happy sleep."

"Don't you mean beauty sleep?"

"No, I stopped taking that after the sun reflected off my hair and blinded some guy."

I couldn't hold back the chuckle. I caught Danny giving me an odd look and I explained, "In joke, kid. Don't worry about it."

"Well, as interesting as this is, I just came in to tell you that we'll be arriving in a few hours." Masters waved his hand in a dismissive fashion.

"Good, then there's still some time for an in-flight movie!"

Masters ignored Daisy's request, who grumbled and curled back up on the floor.

Danny sat back down in his corner of the floor. I stood there, uncertain for a moment.

"Kid?"

Danny ignored me.

I lowered myself down next to him.

"Danny? What's wrong?" As if I didn't have a pretty darn good idea already.

"As if you didn't know," Danny grumbled at me.

"Well, let's say I have a pretty good idea, but I'm wondering how you're dealing with it. It can't be easy."

"Who do you think you are, my sister?" Danny yelled at me, waving his arms up in the air. "You think that after all you've done, you can just come over an make it alright by pretending to care?"

"Not pretending, and I don't presume to think that it will make it all right, but sometimes talking helps."

"That's what Jazz would say."

"She's a smart girl… and her grades prove that."

"You have her grades? How long have you been spying on us, really?"

"Just a couple of weeks. And it was Masters who sent us most of the information."

"Figures."

"Yeah." Okay, that was a dead end.

"I'd just…"

"Just what?" he groaned.

"I'd just like to make it up to you, Danny. I thought I was doing the right thing by telling you, and I never realized that Masters was… Well, I didn't even know he was on this side of the country."

Danny rested his head on his arms, propped up by his knees.

"Vlad's been after me for nearly a year. Traps, tricks, bounties, the clone thing… which by the way, was _really_ creepy."

"_Clones!"_

"Don't ask."

"I'm not sure I want to. But look, Danny, just know this, I never really trusted Masters. I've got you're back, okay?"

Danny didn't answer for a moment.

"You know, I really like your dad."

He gave me a confused look.

"Jack Fenton, I mean. He's a pretty cool guy. It must have been pretty wild growing up with a guy like that."

"You have no idea."

"Well, a small one." I rubbed my shoulder, a phantom pain springing up at the thought of the overzealous ghost hunter.

I got a chuckle from him. That was a little better.

"I just can't imagine Vlad as my father… Actually what is worse is that I can. And it's not a good image."

"Yeah?"

"The way he treats people, he uses every last one. He pretends to be my dad's friend, but that's just to steal his ghost inventions. He pretends to be nice around my sister and me when we're in front of Mom and Dad, but that's just because he wants to steal Mom away… How can that guy possibly be my real father?"

"You don't want him to be?"

"I don't know… And that's the worst thing." Danny sunk his face lower into his arms.

"So you feel guilty?"

"Now you're really sounding like Jazz."

"Sorry." I gave him my gentlest smile.

"You know, being that Vlad is the snake he is, don't lose hope. If you don't want to accept him as your father, then don't."

"But the tests?"

"Tests, shmests," I waved it off, "they may tell you a lot, sure, like who gave birth, who you're related to, whether or not you are actually descended from a line of Russian czars, but they don't tell you who you are, what you're worth, or what you can do." I raised an eyebrow at the half-ghost, half-freshman. "And they don't tell you who your father is. You've been calling Jack Fenton your dad this whole time, and I'm willing to say that he's the father you'd stick with, thick and thin, the only father that really matters."

Danny smiled a bit at me. "That was really sappy."

"Yes, yes it was. But it's the truth, right?"

"Okay." Danny lifted his head out of his arms and pointed at me, "But I'm holding you to that promise that you'll get me out of this."

I lifted my two fingers before me. "Scout's honor."

"We're you ever actually a boy scout?"

"Nope, couldn't afford the fees."

Daisy woke up, the sun was peering slightly through a porthole of types, and shining directly in her eyes. The two guys were dozing on the other side of the domed shield. She rolled over, only to feel something in her pocket stick into her hip.

Groaning, she pulled it out. Her eyes widened as she realized the Fenton Utility Weapon had been in her pocket the entire time. She stuck it back into her pocket. It would definitely come in handy later. Maddie really needed to market those things.


	7. The Real Mystery

Ch. 7:

The landing of a plane is never a very comfortable experience. Your ears pop, your stomach feels like it's getting squeezed in, and there's the awful tension that comes from the delicate though surprisingly ordinary procedure passengers have to become accustomed to. In the average passenger flight on a jet, it is uncomfortable, in the belly of a plane without the benefit of seatbelts, seats, or even anything to hold onto, it's positively insane.

It was morning, and we found ourselves skidding down the length of the metal plate we'd been sitting on all night. Our only warning of the descent was the captain uselessly telling us as we did our best not to slide face first into the energy shield that we had begun our descent and to fasten our seatbelts and put our trays in upright positions. In the back of my mind, I could imagine Masters sitting up in some plush seat with a glass of overpriced alcohol laughing at us. The plane leveled out, and the plane making contact with the earth, then raising into the air, and hitting dirt once again bounced us all rudely about. I sorely missed seatbelts as the sudden deceleration of the plane slid us all forward, bringing us uncomfortably close to the shimmering green bubble again.

The plate beneath us gave a downward jolt and unlatched from the belly of the plane. At first I couldn't see where it was going, I could only feel it lowering to the ground. It didn't stop when it met the ground however, but kept going down. The curved metal walls rose around us as we sunk beneath the surface. Once the dome was completely below the ground, the opening above us closed, dousing us in darkness.

A line of light finally slid up from beneath the plate. The light grew about our feet until we were outside the tube, descending to the floor with a thunk,

Standing expectantly before us was Masters, arms folded behind his back.

"I trust your journey was comfortable?" he smirked.

"You can't hold us in here forever, Vlad." Danny growled.

"I don't plan on it, Daniel. But don't be concerned, I've made sure you won't be tempted to fly off." Masters revealed the same remote he'd used the night before. The green shield around us dissipated, and I was relieved to step off the plate.

Danny jumped off and squeezed his eyes closed, looking constipated. "Hey, I can't go ghost! …Again!" he groaned.

"You may notice that I improved on the Plasmius Maximus-"

"And I thought the Fentons had weird names for their inventions" I interjected.

"And installed it in my Capture Plate. I believe there's still another half hour until your powers will return." Masters rolled his eyes at me. "As for you two…" he turned to face Daisy and I.

"As for you two, it's been a pleasure…" Masters lifted up the remote and pressed another button. Menacing guns popped out of holes in the walls, leveling at Daisy and I.

"Now, farew-OW!" a green bolt of energy hit Master's hand, knocking the remote out of his hand.

Danny and I both turned to see where the blast had come from. Daisy smiled sweetly at us, the Fenton Utility weapon in her hand, smoking slightly.

"Daze, there are times I could kiss you…" I wagged a finger at her. She must have been keeping it secret until the opportune time.

"You two see about finding away out of here," Daisy exclaimed, summoning up her best action heroine voice, and aiming another shot at Masters, who was transforming once more into Plasmius, "I'll hold off ole Bela Lugosi here!"

Danny and I ran to a nearby control panel. The thing had more buttons and blinking lights on it than Carol's old Star Trek reruns.

"Umm… you do know how to use this, right?" I asked him.

He looked at me helplessly. "I thought you did!"

"Well, in the words of my generation, let's push a few buttons and see what happens!"

Vlad was surprised at how quick the small blonde was. She had managed to dodge most of his blasts, and though her aim wasn't the best, he found himself blocking far too many blasts.. mainly protecting the items in his lab.

One of his mounted guns went off, blasting a table up into the air, sending a few empty beakers flying.

"Stop that!" He yelled at Danny and the detective, who were frantically pushing buttons. The new ghost portal he'd had to install opened and closed randomly, screens blinked on and off, doors and panels slid open and closed, the plate lifted up and down from the floor. "That is not a toy!"

Chris grabbed a plasma gun that slid out of one of the panels. "How about this?" He raised leveled the gun at Vlad, but paused, confused for a moment as his cell phone started playing "We Are Family". Blushing, Chris pushed the gun into Danny's hands.

"You do know how to use one of these, right?" Danny nodded, shooting a blast at Vlad, who dodged it easily. A hole smoked in the background.

"Daniel! Cease this! I just replaced this lab!"

I blocked out the yelling, poking a finger in my ear and answering the chirping phone.

"Chris Haunting, Haunting Detective Agencies… this isn't really the best of times."

"Well then why did did you send me this dumb package marked urgent?"

"Carol? That's you?" I was elated. At least something had gone right.

"Yeah. You know, that cell phone of yours has a caller ID. I told you that when I helped you set it up."

"You're a dear, now tell me what the papers say."

"What's all that screaming about?"

I turned to see Vlad had gotten a hold of Danny, and was shaking him mercilessly in midair.

"Hold on... Daisy! Aim high!" She did, hitting the light fixture above Plasmius's head. It snapped free, hitting him on the head. Danny fell free. Two bands of light appeared around his waist, revealing Danny Phantom, teen superhero.

"Hey Vlad! I think your clock is slow!" the kid shot a green blast at his nemesis.

I put my phone back to my ear. "Sorry, Carol. As I said, we're in the middle of something."

"What? I interrupt one of your dance classes?"

"Just…" I slapped my forehead, sighing, "Just tell me what the tests say?"

"Righto. Okay, I understood a little bit of it, you know, biology was never one of my strong points, but CSI reruns are."

"That's why I sent them to you. What do they say?"

"Nine out of eleven markers in common. Positive for relation between the two samples."

"So that means?"

"You're the detective. Of course, being that Jack and Danny Fenton have the same names, I DON'T see why you needed a DNA test to tell."

"Neither do I. I owe you big time Carol… Did you tape America's Next Top Model for me?"

"Yes. I always remember because my mom always calls me up to ask who I think will get eliminated. And you do owe me, hot chocolate, I started a ledger just to keep track of all the things you owe me."

"You're invaluable, Watson."

"I know, Sherlock. Good luck with the case."

"I'm gonna need it." I ended the conversation as a red ectoblast nearly knocked my cellphone out of my hand and almost took my fingers with it.

Plasmius pulled the splitting trick again, and I grabbed up the plasma gun danny had dropped when Vlad grabbed him. I took a pot shot at one of the heads. Instead of vaporizing a duplicate like I'd expected, Plasmius reeled as the blast sheered by his head, all three duplicates disappearing.

"Now that I've got your attention," I angled the weapon threateningly at Plasmius, "You'll excuse me as I indulge myself in something I've always wanted to do…"

"Danny, you wouldn't let him hurt your own flesh and blood?"

Danny looked confused for a moment. Though we'd discussed the whole thing that night, no doubt he was still reeling from the revelations.

"Danny, you were right in the first place, he ISN'T your dad!"

Danny lowered to the floor next to Daisy.

"But I think I finally know just what is going on." Danny's eyes raised as he realized where I was going, a little childish smile curling around his lips, mimicking Daisy's as she too caught onto the detective winding up to the famous whodunit monologue.

"You needed a couple of outsiders, didn't you? Someone who wouldn't know the Fentons well enough to realize Maddie Fenton would never touch you." I addressed Vlad, who while still cradling his head, was smirking at me. "So you called us. Out of thousands of Detective Agencies, you probably picked me out as a relatively unexperienced one."

"Actually it was the name. _Haunting_ Detectives Agency. I couldn't resist."

"Still that was your plan all along. You'd get us to procure Danny and Jack's DNA for a paternity test. You sent in yours separate from the samples we collected. Whether it was actually your blood or someone else's didn't matter." Danny looked at me, slightly confused.

"You switched the labels," I continued. "You put your name on Jacks' sample, making it appear that you were the father instead of Jack."

Vlad's eyes narrowed. Danny's widened, and he smacked himself.

"You figured that if a DNA test showed you as his father, Danny would have to accept you as his father and give up on Jack. And if not that… well you'd confuse him enough to capture him and find a way to band him to your will. Half-ghost and half-ghost together." I growled the last bit. That sort of trickery was far below the belt. Especially against an innocent kid… even if he had superpowers.

"And did you figure this out all by yourself?" Plasmius taunted, rising into the air again. "Bravo! I underestimated you. I didn't think you had the brainpower to ever see through my charade."

He swept at me suddenly, lifting me up by my jacket. He turned so that I was between him and Danny, blocking any shots they'd have at him.

He pressed his face forward into mine. "You should of left when I told you to. Now you'll find why most of my dealings are with ghosts." He pressed a palm into my midsection. The burning of an ectoblast caused me to recoil and cry out. Daisy and Danny were calling out, trying to get a clear shot at Vlad, but he kept on the defensive, shoving me in front of him, backing up.

"Meddler." He growled at me.

"That's what you hired me for." I grinned weakly. I then threw the hardest uppercut I think I've ever managed at his jaw. The billionaire's neck snapped back, he dropped me, and I hit the ground hard.

Vlad also fell a bit, having been taken so offguard. Daisy ran forward to grab me up. Danny hit a button on the control panel.

"Get behind me!" the door of the portal opened. Daisy dragged me away from Plasmius, who was approaching us menacingly, wiping a bit of blood from his lower lip. He growled, andI could see more blood around his teeth. I'd hit him _good._ Danny darted in front of us, and Plasmius's eyes widened as he realized that he was between Danny and the Portal. He snarled, leaping at the kid.

Danny screamed, but it came out as a low, loud howl, breaking beakers, crushing cabinets, and blasting Plasmius backwards into the Ghost Zone, changing back into Masters.

The portal crumpled under the sonic power, and the green window into the afterworld blinked out as the portal collapsed. Danny collapsed to his knees, the white bands reappearing and turning him back into Fenton.

Daisy and I stared awestruck at the worn teen.

"Okay, I know my puberty was strange, but my voice never did that!" I laughed, rasping a bit.

Danny turned to look at me, giving me a lopsided grin. "That joke's already been made."

"How about you may have a career as an air raid siren, kid?" daisy laughed.

He shook his head. He was tired, and I couldn't blame him.

"So is he gone?" Daisy asked Danny as we booked a flight back to Amity Park. None of us knew exactly how to fly a plane, even though Danny said he'd once flown the Space shuttle. Daisy had retorted that she'd bought the whole ghost power thing, and she wasn't in the mood to buy anymore.

"Vlad? Naw, his portal was hardly the only one out there, and ghosts have been getting out of the ghost zone without ghost portals before. He'll be back. He always comes back." Danny sighed wearily.

"This time was tough?" I asked him.

"Duh."

Sorry, standard-"

"Standard question, I know."

Daisy and I shared a grin.

"But thanks. You didn't have to fight Vlad for me like that."

"Well, we did get you into this mess." I apologized.

"He would of figured out a way to get around it if you had turned him down."

"Real Ego boost, Thanks Kid." I gave his shoulder a slight slug as our lanes were called for boarding.

"Naw, I mean, it's kinda lucky for me you were in this. Anyone else would of just left me, and I may of never found out Vlad's trick." Danny squeezed past the grinning flight stewardess.

"Yeah right. You would of found out. You had us pegged from the start. You're just trying to make me feel better."

"No, I'm not. I mean," Danny sat down into the plane seat. We were in the far back. It wasn't as nice as the private jet, but at least it had actual seats unlike the belly of the plane we'd spent the night. I was quickly learning to associate plane rides with bad. "I really believed him for a while."

"He's a good liar, I'll give Masters that. He knows how to string you along. Whether you like him or not."

"Okay, but how did you find out he'd switched the samples?"

I leaned back, savoring the moment where I could finally explain how I'd figured it out.

"I sent a second test. I told the lab to send the results to an associative of mine that Masters wouldn't know of. I'd suspected him of pulling something, though I didn't know what that would be."

"So that's what that phone call from Carol was about!" Daisy exclaimed.

"Yup. That and to tell me that we owe her big."

"I'll bet. She says that every time I enter the door." Daisy laughed.

Danny rolled his eyes, getting lost as we two adults started going off on references to someone he'd never met.

"Okay, one last question," Danny interrupted Daisy and my litany on the things we owed Carol for, "What do I tell my parents?"

I looked at Daisy, who just shrugged her shoulders. The plane started its engines, rolling away from the station, the captain welcoming us and telling us to fasten our seatbelts.

"That, Kid," I said, shrugging, "Is the real mystery."


	8. The Heroes

Chapter 8 (aka the Epilogue)

I think we were all relieved to see the Fentonworks sign bulging out of the city skyline. Aside from running through various different lies and excuses during the plane ride it had been a rather peaceful ride. Just about restored my faith in the idea that flying was the safest mode of transportation.

The door opened before Danny could knock, Jack Fenton, bags under his eyes and a hollow look on his face stared at us, uncomprehending at first, then looked down and saw his son.

"DANNY!" Jack swept Danny up in his arms in a bone crushing bear hug. "Sam and Tucker said the Wisconsin Ghost had kidnapped you!"

I saw Maddie and Jazz rushing out from the next room. The heads of Danny's two friends peeked out from the room as the Rest of the Fentons joined in the effort to squeeze Danny juice all over the front steps.

Jack put down Danny and Maddie took up kissing his cheeks.

"Danny, how'd you get away from V- The ghost?" Jazz asked.

Danny was only able to give out a little wheeze as his mother reintroduced him to her chest, hugging his head.

Jack Fenton finally noticed Daisy and I.

"You saved my son from that ghost!" He then swept Daisy and I up into a double bear hug.

"Yeah, sure, let's go with that." I gasped, my bruised ribs starting to crack under the larger than life man's grip.

When the hug ended and we were returned to our feet, I noticed Danny receiving much gentler hugs from his sister and friends.

"Well, I think our work is done here, Daze." I smiled, at my partner. We were turning to go when Jack and Maddie pulled us back.

"Wait, we have to thank you somehow for returning our Danny to us," Maddie insisted.

"No, Mrs. Fenton, that's really not necessary. We were happy to bring him back."

"Well at least stay for dinner so you can tell us what happened." She insisted.

An explosion cut off any more excuses I could make. There was a familiar moaning moo coming up from the Fenton's basement.

"Dinner will have to wait!" Maddie Fenton yelled, pulling her suit's hood over her face. "We have to defend the lab!" She pulled out a ridiculously long weapon from the pocket on the side of her hip and dashed down the stairs.

"Man is that Hot!" Jack Fenton grabbed my shoulder, pulling me along after him. "To the lab, Mr. Hartman!"

I winced, watching the laughing faces of Daisy, Danny and his friends disappear from view as I was yanked along for another round of spectral herd control.

Plasmius floated in the ghost zone, fuming and gripped the small leather strap tightly in his hand. That would be the last time he brought in any outsiders into his business with Danny Phantom.

He growled. His portal would have to be rebuilt again. Daniel was becoming too strong, and he had just thrown more allies into his young rival's lap. He'd have to find another way. He'd valued the thought of Daniel's turning as being one of choice, but now his stubborn protégé would have to be taken in by force, or destroyed. A wicked grin curled over his lips, stroking the leather strap. He'd been so close to finally having his student, but he would have him. It would be only an extra expenditure of time, money and pain.

The End.


End file.
